All-Time All-Beilein Squad

The NBA draft and all the trades surrounding it got me thinking about some "what-if" questions. If Beilein could draft a starting five to play in his system, who would be pick? I was trying to figure out which Michigan players he would take from the last ten years, which all-time Michigan players he would take, and which players he would take given his choice of any player ever.

Over the last ten years, I was thinking DeShawn Sims, LaVell Blanchard, Manny Harris, Daniel Horton, and Dion Harris. That team might be a bit small, but it can shoot. I had trouble thinking of a big man from recent Michigan history who could shoot at all. I am not in love with these picks, but it hasn't been a spectacular last ten years, either. I feel like we should be able to find a better shooting point guard, but none came to mind. I feel like Beilein would love someone versatile like Bernard Robinson, Jr., too, but I think LaVell was a better outside shooter and I didn't want to bump a guard for him because you need some ball-handling.

Picking the all-time, all-Beilein Michigan squad was fairly tough. I came up with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Glen Rice, Louis Bullock, and Rumeal Robinson. I figure Beilein would love the versatility of Webber and Rose. Rice seemed like a no-brainer. I had trouble picking the guards, to be honest, and had to go back to some stats on Bullock and Robinson. Any thoughts/upgrades here would be appreciated, particularly given my dearth of knowledge about some of the older players. I thought about Cazzie Russell, but have never seen footage of him actually playing and don't really know his style. He played before they implemented the 3 point line, too, so that makes things tough to project just from the numbers. I had trouble coming up with the best Michigan big man, too. I think Rudy Tomjanovich warrants a mention, but I don't know if he was really a shooter. Juwan Howard's ability to play multiple positions might pique the Coach's interest, but I don't know if he is a good enough shooter to crack the top five.

The all-time squad is what really intrigued me. I certainly have a bias towards more recent players, but there are a lot of stellar options here. I was thinking Steve Nash at the point, Kobe at the 2, Bird at the 3, and Nowitzki at the 4. I think there are plenty of sweet-shooting options at the point, but Nash has to be amongst the best. I am a Bulls fan and love MJ, but I think Kobe might be a little better shooter. You can certainly make a case for Reggie Miller or Ray Allen as pure shooters, too, but I think Kobe gives you a better defender. Bird and Nowitzki seem like perfect players for a Beilein system. The center was a tough call. I think you could definitely move Nowitzki to the 5 and add Jordan, Ray Allen, or Reggie Miller to the mix. Of course Magic Johnson has famously filled in at center before, but I don't know if he is the pure outside shooter you want. When thinking about the best all-time shooting big men, Arvydas Sabonis came to mind. You obviously couldn't go wrong with an all-time great here like Wilt, Russell, Hakeem, Kareem, or Shaq, but I am hard-pressed to come up with a better outside shooter at the 5 than Sabonis.

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The all time UM team would benefit from some of the earlier players. Cazzie Russell would have been a great fit for Beilein. Players like Ricky Green, Phil Hubbard and Mike McGee are also good candidates.

My most lasting memory of Cazzie wasn't on the basketball court, or at least the UM one.

Back then, they really were student-athletes, and Cazzie was a student Gym teacher at Tappan (Oliver Darden was a student history teacher, too, but I digress). On a bet with one of the teachers, he sunk 100 straight from the foul line in our little gym. I happened to wander in when he was at about fifty. Memory plays tricks on people, but I don't remember even one shot being close to missing.

Anyway, back to the theme, he definitely would have fit well in Beilein's system.

His career was up and down with injuries, but I think that Lester Abram (pretty good shooter with a few other skills along with a solid attitude) would have been a Beilein-type player. I wonder about Lavell Blanchard (could shoot, and play a bit inside despite his size) as well.